1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, such as one that is used to terminate a signal cable, more particularly to an electrical connector with a transparent insulating jacket.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrical connector is commonly used in computer systems and communication networks. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,148, there is disclosed a conventional electrical connector that comprises an insulator body, an annular metal housing, and a tubular unitary metal protective shield. The insulator body has a front face, a rear face, and a terminal pin unit. The terminal pin unit includes a plurality of parallel pins that extend through the insulator body. Each of the pins has a front end that extends from the front face of the insulator body, and a rear end that extends from the rear face of the insulator body. The annular metal housing defines a terminal opening therein, and has a rear end, which is formed with an out wardly extending flange. The metal protective shield has open front and rear ends, which are adapted for passage of a cable through the shield to connect with the rear ends of the pins electrically. The shield defines a hole therein, which has an enlarged front portion for receiving the insulator body fittingly therein. The front end of the metal protective shield is formed with an outwardly extending flange, which abuts against the flange of the housing and which is connected fixedly to the flange of the housing.
Due to the presence of the tubular unitary metal protective shield, the advantages of a reduction in electromagnetic interference without an increase in the complexity of the manufacturing process can be achieved by the aforesaid electrical connector. However, because a rigid insulating housing is injection molded on the shield for protecting the latter, the shield is likely to be inadvertently deformed during the injection molding process, thereby resulting in possible short circuits within the electrical connector. Moreover, because the insulating housing is opaque, it is not possible to verify connections within the electrical connector and to form relief patterns on the shield for identification or aesthetic purposes.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a transparent insulating jacket in order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the present invention, an electrical connector comprises:
a connector unit including a terminal holding member and a terminal set mounted on the terminal holding member, the terminal holding member having a front end face and a rear end face opposite to the front end face, the terminal set having a front mating portion and a rear coupling portion that projects rearwardly relative to the rear end face of the terminal holding member;
a tubular unitary metal protective sleeve having a sleeve wall with a front end portion that defines a receiving space for receiving the terminal holding member of the connector unit therein;
a transparent insulating jacket for enclosing fittingly the metal protective sleeve; and
an interlocking unit including a hole set formed in one of the sleeve wall and the transparent insulating jacket and a plug set formed on the other of the sleeve wall and the transparent insulating jacket to interconnect securely the metal protective sleeve and the transparent insulating jacket.